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Symantec under pressure to split up?

Activist investors getting active

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Symantec faces being split up by activist investors, according to the New York Post.

Symantec is viewed as still struggling to integrate its 2005, $10.5bn Veritas acquisition, and it may be undervalued as a result, based upon estimates of what individual units could fetch if they were spun off. For example, Veritas might be sold - EMC might like to think about buying that, or the Norton Anti-Virus business could be put up for sale.

The Post's source says the dissident investors are touting possibilities to potential buyers and other shareholders. On 15 November, US regulations will force new investors with between one and five per cent shareholdings to disclose their identity, which could flush them out into the open.

Big numbers are being bandied about, with one shareholder thinking Symantec could fetch $22 to $26 overall if broken up, which contrasts to its current share price of $17.14. ®